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SongCook's Korean Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Korean Restaurants Chinese Restaurants Japanese Korean, Chinese, Japanese [Edit]
72 Steeles Ave WUnit 6
Vaughan, ON L4J 1V7
(647) 678-8000
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
20 reviews for SongCook's Korean Restaurant
20 reviews in English
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Review from Josephine C.
Markham, ON
2/1/2012
Was recommended to this restaurant by a friend. This place is hard to find, as it's hidden behind a car dealership and cannot be seen from Steeles Ave.
We ordered a few dishes including beef bone soup (one of my faves) and was pleasantly surprised as to how this hidden Korean restaurant could be so good!
The utensils were on the side of the table in a glass container (like an authentic Korean restaurant), and on the other side of the restaurant were large tables where you sit on the floor (also authentic Japanese/Korean). On the weekday evening that we went, the place was packed with Koreans.
I'm rarely in the area unfortunately, but if I were I'd be coming here more often! -
Review from Edwin A.
Pleasant servers and servers galore. I think I saw more servers than patrons when I ate had my late lunch at around 2pm.
I ordered the dolsot bibimbap - a staple Korean mixed rice dish served up in stone bowl. It's G1 on their menu.
The banchan consisted of a radish and cabbage kimchi. And you're given pieces so large they provide scissors to cut them. To let you know, I'm not a fan of kimchi - I sampled it though.
ZZzzzzzzz the bibimbop arrived sizzling in hot stone bowl. I was pretty excited to try. The ingredients looked so beautifully arranged and colourful :)
Unfortunately though from my first spoonful it was pretty bland tasting. I added some squirts of hot sauce to give it some life, but alas the main ingredient, the rice, was soggy and overcooked. That ruined the entire meal for me. Also strangely the bowl was hot but the contents in the bowl weren't that hot?
I had a struggled eating this, alternating between taking small spoonfuls and answering emails.
To improve the taste I'd like them to use a bit more sesame oil for flavour and fix their soggy rice.
As for service, the wait staff here was very polite and were prompt with any request. Too bad the bibimbap wasn't as I good as I had hoped. -
Review from Joanne W.
12/29/2011 3 Check-ins Here
My friends and I came here for lunch during the Christmas break. It has a traditional Korean feel to it. We were seated quickly, but asked to take off our shoes. We sat in this area where they had heated floors! It was sort of similar to the Japanese-style seating (tatamis).
The service was great -- however, I think they kept thinking we were Korean (because they kept speaking to us in Korean).
For banchans - they gave us a HUGE dish of kimchi (cabbage and radish). It was absolutely delicious. Japchae was also served as well.
In terms of what we ordered, it was the following:
1) Spicy fried chicken: Realllly good - however, you would feel pretty sick afterward. We had 4 people and we couldn't finish it all (however, we also had three other dishes).
2) Spicy seafood stew: I can't recall what it was called, but it had some seafood and noodles within it. This was REALLY good - I would definitely recommend this (if I could only recall what it was called in Korean).
3) Jajangmyun: It was good, but I think I liked spicier food stuff better.
4) Dolsot bibimbap: I felt like I had better bibimbaps at other places. However, I think it might be the fact that we left it to one of the last things to eat (and it wasn't hot near the end).
I really liked the place - very clean and very accommodating.
Also! If you check-in with Foursquare during a "flash deal" - you can get free dumplings with your meal. -
Review from Antone V.
East York, ON
4/24/2012
Suggested family to go here from yelp reviews. Went with small group of 8, arrived at the restaurant looked pretty nice inside and busy.
food took forever to arrive pork bone soup and kalbi beef rib not that great
kimchi literally came on a plate these big strips of cabbage they actually gave us scissors to cut up, same with the kalbi used scissors to cut up the large strips of meat, meat was dry and bland
will not be going back -
Review from Alex T.
Toronto, ON
11/15/2011
Korean restaurants usually follow the same model in the city. It's tried and tested so there's no reason to fiddle around with something that works. SongCooks offers some refreshing different items from the Nakwon's and Owls. Not that there's anything wrong with Nakwon (I love Nakwon personally), it's just nice to have something different.
Pros:
Very spacious, this place is the biggest Korean restaurant I've been too.
Very friendly staff
Different fare from your average Korean restaurant.
Steamed Ribs.. *drools*
Cons:
Prices are a tad higher than what you see elsewhere
Not as many free side dishes at other Korean places
The first thing you notice when you get inside is how spacious it is inside. They have a lot of room in there. We were a party of 8 people on a saturday night and as busy as it was inside, we were sat in no more than 10 minutes. The decor is simple, yet nice. Very clean place.
We ordered a variety of your standard dishes with some choices not seen at other Korean restaurants. There was a grilled fish dish, deep fried sweet and sour chicken. My favourite though, by far were the steamed ribs. We're talking fall of the bone tender ribs.. I'm drooling just thinking about them again. The food is well prepared, definitely above average.
The staff was very friendly and understanding. It was our first time so we had tons of questions. Our waiter was very patient and asnwered the questions the best he could. His english was not the best, but he was doing his best and that's all you really want.
After we ordered, I was surprised to see we only got one medium sized dish of kimchi. I guess we're all spoiled by the other places giving us 7/8 dishes worth of side dishes. It's something free so it's not something I should really complain about at all. It's just nice to have.
The main gripe has to be the prices. It's not a huge thing either. Not enough to keep me away at least. You will notice they are about 1/2 dollars higher than other places. It doesn't urk me as much as it may you. My ribs cost $10 for a small portion and $20 for a large. For $20, I guess I expected a little more than what I got, but like I said, it's minor gripe.
All in all, if you're a fan of Korean cuisine do give this place a try. It'll be something different. This is definitely an establishment I will go back to. Nakwon and Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu are still my go to's as I'm right across the street, but this is a close second. -
Review from Vivien L.
10/6/2011
I came here because I heard there are amazing Foursquare specials so once I got there, I tried to check-in through Foursquare and of course the app craps out on me.. never-the-less we were hungry and craving korean food so we sat down and ate.
My bf and I got seated in the area where you sit on the heated floors which was pretty cool. Prices here are pretty decent, I ended up getting a combo of jajangmyun and friend rice for around $9. Both things came out quickly and tasted really yummy.
I would come here all the time if it weren't so out of the way haha.
BTW if you can get foursquare working for you, their specials are pretty good. First check-in is a free pop and it get better with ever check-in. Also, I think the mayor gets a free dish! -
Review from Precilla C.
Scarborough, ON
I came here with a large group of friends and had a wonderful experience. Instead of ordering meals for each of us, we opted to share everything! So I got the chance to sample a lot of dishes that I can't even name. Most of it was really good, and the prices are really affordable.
Unlike other Korean restaurants, they don't offer a large variety of banchan (appetizers)- only kimchi and pickled radish. However, I had a lot of food to indulge on that night, so I didn't really mind that much.
I honestly struggle to remember what I ate that day, but there were a couple of things that I absolutely loved. The jajangmyun was definitely a winner! I'm not normally a fan of black bean, but I loved the black bean sauce and I wanted to slather it over everything. The noodle also had a smooth and pleasant texture, and the combination is delicious. Another dish that I loved was some sort of stir fry pork in a spicy sauce (jeyuk bokeum?). The spicy sauce was addictive! It was not that spicy to me but probably sufficiently spicy for everyone else.
We also got a big pot of bibimbap to share, and that was also tasty. The Kam Ja Tang (pork bone soup) was alright, but nothing spectacular.
On a side note, half of the restaurant requires you to sit on the floor. It was not the most comfortable arrangement for most guys, although I was fine with it (because the floor was heated).
I also got free pop for signing in on Foursquare. So make sure you sign in if you get a chance.Listed in: 30-Day Yelp Challenge
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Review from John F.
North York, ON
10/3/2011
No fault of the restaurant, but this place is a bitch to find. The little strip mall is such that its entrance is easily missed and the restaurant sits under a bridge between two buildings without a sign on Steeles Avenue.
The food was good Korean, nice relishes with very spicy kim chee and damn cheap. Note that the specials listed on a separate card are not on the menu and they don't give everyone in the same party the same info.
I'd up this to four stars if the servers could speak English a bit better. I could understand if they were older people (it gets harder to learn a new language when one gets older), but the guy we had was really young. Even if your patrons are mostly of the same ethnic group as your cuisine, you'll do better business if you forgo hiring FOB (fresh off the boat) folks as staff until they can learn the language of the country a bit btter. Start them off as kitchen help or bussers instead!
He really had a lot of trouble understanding us. -
Review from Michael Y.
Toronto, ON
8/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great Korean food for the price. I've had almost everything on the menu. Nothing really stands out but everything is pretty good. Love the combo plates. My wife loves the stone bowl fish eggs and cold water buckwheat noodles (it comes with a slice of watermelon - crazy!!) The service is hit and miss but tolerable.
We're at the Mississauga location most of the time but recently went to the North York location, which feels like a much bigger space (could be the high ceilings). Great place to bring your non-Korean friends (or even your Korean friends) to show what Korean foods all about.
The restaurant is a little difficult to located. Hint - it's behind the Moores store. -
Review from Cindy Y.
Scarborough, ON
5/20/2011
What a great place!
I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this restaurant. From the minute we stepped in to when we left, everything was amazing.
First, I love the decor and the entire feel of the place. It's big and open, and kind of like a chalet with all the wooden panelling. But it's still got an Asian feel, without the cramped space - a definite plus :)
Our waitress was so polite and sweet the entire time. Started with roasted wheat tea and usual kimchi appetizers. Although the banchan was fewer than other places (only got kimchi cabbage and radish), this was made up for by the large portions of our other food.
Both my dining partner and I ordered combos from a really visually-appealing, big menu. Surprised to see that the prices were still very much like other, smaller Korean places.
I ordered:
1) Combo with: half jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and half champong (spicy seafood soup) with rice $8.50
- Both were very good portion sizes, and for my small stomach, I probably would've been full with just one of each order! But the black bean noodles were delicious: cooked perfectly al dente, flavour was deep and complex. The spicy seafood soup, although with not much seafood, was also really good with a lot of different flavours, and perfect level of spice.
Friend ordered:
2) Combo with: half jajangmyeon and deep-fried sweet and sour chicken $12.00
- I tried a piece of his sweet and sour chicken, and it was a lot tastier than standard versions. The white meat was really tender and juicy, and batter wasn't too thick. So good.
Service was great, and so accommodating. I had a great time here, and can't wait to try the other things on their menu! I hear their cold noodles are also good :) -
Review from Ana W.
5/30/2011
Great place!
I was happy to learn from Dale (if I'm not mistaken) that the beef is organic! Not only that they also have handmade noodles as well as option to swap your ordinary plain white rice for a wholesome option with barley.
I ordered their Kalbi Tang (beef ribs soup + rice) and hand made noodles with shrimp and pork... It was really good, except there was a MSG after taste... or maybe it was too salty... otherwise, it's really good.
I would give it a 3.5 right now... If there was no MSG, I'd give it a 4 star. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
1/17/2011 12 photos
Song Cook's have to be one of the nicest Korean/Chinese Restaurant I have been to.
When I was greeted by this young Korean man that speak perfect English asking if I want to sit at the table or at the warm seating platform, I know it will be different from the other places I visit.
Prices wise, I am surprise how affordable the prices are. All the items are priced under $10!!
And this place is perfect for solo diner like me that could not make up their mind since they have 1 person Combo!! Now I can try more than 1 dish without stuffing myself crazy or paying double the price!
Half JaJangMyun + Half ChamPong (Veg, beef, black bean sauce on noodles & spicy seafood noodle soup) - $8.50
- the portions are huge!! I was full after eating the soup noodles...
- Spicy Seafood broth was quite spicy and rich.. not that waterdown version.. definitely have a nice kick to it..
- The seafood though is really small... baby versions of everything... shmrips, squids and mussels
- The Korean version of the black bean sauce noodles was good too. Not too salty with a lot of onions inside.. if you don't like eating onions, you might have to skip this dish.. and of course more raw onion on the side if you want extra!
- Noodle are Homemade... a little chewy with a lot of bite... really light not floury at all.
All the waitstaffs at Song Cook's speaks perfect English so you will have no problem asking questions about the menu... and if you want to practice your Korean too, you are more than welcome. They are all polite and helpful... + 1 star to that!!
No lunch Specials though... but with their price, the quality of their food and services and the nice deco... they don't need lunch specials to bring in the crowds!
They accepts Amex, Mastercard, Visa and Interac.Listed in: Korean Town North!, Mashi-e-sawyo! Korean…, Cheap/Fast Date!
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Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
1/20/2011
My story for SongCook was during the Fall season in 2010 I actually walked by this place while they were moving and doing construction in this back corner of a plaza that leads to nowhere. It lead to nowhere, that's why when those construction guys saw me walk pass them they looked at me funny. Where the heck does this dude think he's going?
That time I notice their unfinished metallic front gates that speak of bling. At that point, I wondered if this doubles as a Korean Strip Club when dining hours are complete. The answer is a disappointing NO.
That's because I went back in early January for take-out and it's quite obvious there is some elegance to this place as you actually see a Host/Manager greeting you just past the entrance. I thought I've arrived at Mandarin Buffet instead but he was such a friendly host as we actually took the Menu out to our car to browse. My Friend notes that this seems to be more of a Korean-Chinese restaurant.
15 minutes after our order we went back inside to this sizable restaurant that seems quite open-spaced and somewhat suitable for large groups and even banquet gatherings. If I remember correctly, I was watching their Television while my Friend was paying the bill. That could have been another place though.
This place is possibly Date Friendly environment, I'll have to try them again dining-in to confirm. What's better than stuffing yourself in front of your date with huge portions of Korean food and slurping dark sauced noodle all over them?
#44 Sam Sun Gan Ja Jang(Seafood & Pork JaJang Noodle $10.00) - As stated by others, the Noodle was nice with some bite. The seafood was the small bitesize variety inside the Ja Jang which had noticeable amount of chopped Onion. For the price paid, it was reasonable with the portion size but maybe it was meant to be shared as even half size is enough for some.Listed in: Hanguk, Pull my Noodles - Korea +…
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Review from Michelle L.
North York, ON
8/6/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Pleasant surprize. One of the best korean restaurants in toronto and they opened not too long ago. I love their heated floor seats but make sure not to order dishes served on hot stone/plates if you choose the heated floor seating area. : )
I liked the variety in their menu and nice service. Side dishes are always refillable and waitresses/waiters were very attentive during my visit. I would definitely bring guests there for special occasions. The size of the restautant is large and plenty of parking avail. -
Review from Shirley T.
North York, ON
8/25/2011
We ordered the seafood pancake, kalbi, jajangmyun noodle, spicy pork stir-fry, sweet n sour chicken and a tofu soup with rice. Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu has better tofu soup and stone pot purple rice (cheaper too). The kalbi, chicken and pork stirfry were good but nothing mind-blowing, pretty standard. The pancake was a little too floury for my liking and not enough seafood filling to make up for the $15 price. The winner was the jajangmyun! The sauce was thick and flavourful but not over-seasoned. The noodles were chewy and fresh. I would go back just to eat the noodles.
The service, décor and size of the restaurant also fall into the pro column. (I didn't like sitting on the floor for that long though...maybe I'm just getting old. I went during the summer so I have no experience of this wonderful heated floor. Perhaps I could've liked it during winter?) The con would be the side dishes which are limited to kimchi (slightly bland), pickled radish and chopped, fresh sweet onions. I'm a huge fan of the many side dishes in Korean cuisine so that was a bit of a let-down.
Next time if I do go back I'd try the bibimbap and home-made noodles and of course, I'd order the jajangmyun! -
Review from Tanya N.
1/20/2011
This place is tucked away at the back of a plaza so if you're not looking for it, you'd probably miss it entirely.
It's a gem and I'm happy my friend suggested we try it. Luckily we made reservations (group of 6) otherwise we would have probably had to wait awhile as there was a crowd waiting to be seated. I called the day of and though they were able to squeeze us in they advised that they usually only take reservations a day in advance.
We were seated in the heated platform area so we kicked off our shoes and sat cross legged for the entire meal. If you're tall you'd probably want to sit at the ends so you can sprawl out occasionally. My fiance and friends had to stand up a couple of times just to stretch out.
The heated floor/platform was great especially since it was cold out but after awhile we were all over heated - wear layers (this is a family restaurant after all).
Anyways, onto the food. The food was delicious and they have all your standard Korean food with a number of chef specials. One stand out dish we had was the fried chicken in sweet & spicy sauce (listed under the Chef's Specials for $18). Everyone loved it and by far the winner of the night. It wasn't very spicy so I wouldn't worry about it if you usually avoid spicy food.
The service was great and they took time to explain dishes that we were curious about.
Dishes were around $10 and the chef specials are a bit pricier at about $18 - $25. Here is a link to their menu that I found online: http://forums.redflagd...
I went back in December and they didn't have their liquor license yet but the manager confirmed that it was in the works. He explained that the license was put on hold so he could deal with other things like ensuring the building was up to spec with fire department. Fire hazards vs soju drunkeness , hmm..I.'m glad he had his priorities straight.
I'd go back any day. -
Review from Ed C.
North York, ON
10/28/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I have been going to this place since it opened. It's the best Korean food I find in the area. Good service, especially from the owner, i think his name is Daio. He speaks perfect english and offers me free appetizer whenever he sees me. Must try their fired chicken cutlet, it's so tender, juicy and crispy. The portions are huge and price is cheap.
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Review from i t.
North York, ON
6/6/2011
Kimchi was sour. When we asked for different Kimchi, we got another plate of sour.
Lots of MSG in the Seafood noodle Jampong.
Black Bean noodles were watered down and deathly sweet.
Spicy Tofu stew was tasteless.
Bibimbap was bland.
No side dishes to speak of, except for the sour Kimchi.
They charge $3.50 for the rice to go with the Spicy Tofu stew.
Service was less than friendly.
Clueless waitresses.
Complaints went unheard. Or uncared.
Needless to say, we will not be patronizing this establishment. This place just doesn't measure up. Too big to fail? Doubt it. Another lackadaisical attempt at a do-it-all Korean food. Specialize. Do it better. -
Review from Monica K.
North York, ON
2/11/2011 3 photos
Good food, lots of options, love the heated floor seatings!
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Review from Dina B.
11/27/2011
Food is tasty. Portions are getting smaller. Food was delivered family style. Table service is nonexistent. We had to serve ourselves. We realized the overall performance of the restaurant is beginning to decline. You have been warned.
